


How could you think that?

by overratedlittletwink



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Canon Compliant, Comfort, Cussing, Fluff, Happy Ending, Love, M/M, Mental Breakdown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:21:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25839502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overratedlittletwink/pseuds/overratedlittletwink
Summary: After a fight, Mac and Dennis come to terms with some unspoken feelings between the two of them
Relationships: Mac McDonald & Dennis Reynolds, Mac McDonald/Dennis Reynolds
Comments: 2
Kudos: 72





	How could you think that?

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! this is my first-ever fic so go easy on me :) I’ve never written before so I’m not totally sure how to construct this but I have to start somewhere! I had a headache and took a nap and I dreamed this, and it felt wrong to keep it from the world so… here you go! 
> 
> Setting: Mac and Dennis’ apartment, at night. They just had a huge fight (about something dumb) and tensions are high

“Mac?”

“Yeah, _Dennis_?”

“ _Fuck_ you.”

“Oh, wh- fuck you too!”

Mac ran his hands through his hair for the thousandth time that night. In the back of his mind, he wondered if the gel left over from the day was making it stick out in strange ways. That wasn’t what he was focused on, however. He was concentrating on Dennis; trembling, flushed, gritted-teeth Dennis, standing behind the couch. Mac was sure he didn’t look so good himself. They had been bickering all day and evening, even through brushing their teeth, but things had finally boiled over into a rather exhausting argument that Mac was hoping would come to a close soon. He hated arguing, especially with Den. He knew that stress was bad for your body, and if he argued too much then what would happen to his bulk? Not to mention that he knew Dennis’s health was fragile, and the last thing Mac wanted to do was to harm his roommate. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from matching Den’s intensity. 

As Mac stared at him, another thought tickled the back of his mind: why _was_ Dennis so upset? It wasn’t like him to get this belligerent, especially when they’d both had barely anything to drink that day. Maybe something else was bothering him? Mac flashed back to the Valentine’s Day when Dennis insisted that nothing was wrong, only to find out that he was actually feeling lonely and left out from his friends not getting him a gift. _Well_ , Mac remembered, _I was able to fix that one up pretty quick._ What was he supposed to do here, though? He didn’t have the faintest clue what could be bothering his friend, nor did he know how to even begin fixing it. 

All of this took a quick backseat as Mac noticed Dennis straighten his posture, lips pressing into a restrained scowl. 

—

“Alright, fine then. I’m going to go stay with Charlie and Frank, and _you_ can stay here.” Dennis stalked towards the front door, intending to brush right by Mac. He was stopped, though, by Mac swiftly stepping between him and the door, using his broad frame to block Dennis from fleeing. _Fleeing_ , Dennis inwardly snarled at himself. _You fucking coward. Why don’t you just say what you feel? Why don’t you just tell him? Why don’t-_ His scathing inner monologue was interrupted by Mac talking to him, still angry but looking increasingly baffled.

“Dude, _what_ is going on with you tonight?! I didn’t wanna say anything earlier, cuz like, it was a little more low-key, but you have just been so mad over the littlest shit today! Like, did I say something? Cuz if I did, just tell me, because I’m starting to get a little worried, bro.” Mac’s eyes grew bigger as he said this, until he looked like a puppy pleading for a treat. His expression, more than his words, twisted Dennis’s heart in agony. Why did he have to do this? Why did he treat Mac like this, the one person he was sure that he lov- Dennis cut off his thoughts with a scoff, waving his hands as he spoke.

“Oh, wow, how perceptive of you! Something’s wrong, huh? I’ll tell you what’s wrong. What’s _wrong_ is that you don’t even know! You can’t even tell! How the hell am I supposed to talk to you about it if you don’t even know?” Dennis voice rose an octave as he said this, partially due to his anger, but also due to the pain he felt at Mac’s visible confused frustration.

“Dude, do you _hear_ yourself right now? How the hell am _I_ supposed to talk to _you_ about whatever it is if you don’t tell me? It- it’s just ridiculous! I can’t read your mind, Dennis!” 

Dennis knew the second those words came out of his mouth that they didn’t make any sense. He was beyond trying to make sense at this point. _Idiot_.

“Oh, pff, k- yeah, okay. Is that what you want to hear? That- that I’m ridiculous? That I’m- I have a- a-” Dennis stuttered. He was sure that both he and Mac were equally as confused about what he was saying by that point.

“Wh- wha- w-“ Mac squinted at him and shook his head. “What the fuck are you _talking_ about?”

Dennis’s eyes flickered shut. Only briefly, but it was long enough to compose himself. “I’m going to Charlie’s. Maybe _he_ cares about me.” The last bit came out with more venom than Dennis had intended, and he wanted to die looking at the effect it had on Mac. He steeled himself, however, and twisted around Mac’s shoulder to grab the keys. _Coward, idiot, fool. Stop running, fucker! Turn around!_ He had just laid his hand on the doorknob when he felt Mac’s strong hand grip his shoulder. Before he had time to even process what was happening, he found himself pressed against Mac in a tight embrace. As much as he wanted to dissolve right then and there, his stupid _fucking_ pride had him immediately struggling.

“What are you doing?” he gasped. “Come on, man, let me go.” He tried his best to force some steel into his voice, but he was sure that he wasn’t convincing. 

“No,” murmured Mac fiercely. “I am not going to let you go to Charlie’s. I-I’m going to stand here, because _I_ care about you. And I’m going to hug you, and I’m not going to let you go, because that’s what you do when you love somebody, you don’t let them fuck up as best as you can. And- and I don’t know,” Mac’s voice cracked, “what you’re feeling all the time, because you don’t like to talk about that shit. And if you don’t love me, then, you know, whatever.” Mac couldn’t see the pain on Dennis’s face, but if he could, he would have called 911. “I mean, it sucks, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be there for you whenever you need. So, just, can you please just tell me what’s going on, and we can talk about it? I know it’s hard-“ 

Mac’s voice died in his throat with a small gasp as Dennis did the only thing he could think to do. Dennis felt Mac shiver as he wrapped his own shaking hands tightly around Mac’s back, burying his face in Mac’s shoulder. He could feel his friend’s warmth through his henley, the strong, tense muscles softening as he felt Mac squeezing him tighter. Dennis felt like he could have stayed there forever. _But you can’t, idiot. You have to tell him now. Tell him. Tell him. Tell-_ With a shaky inhale, Dennis pulled his head back to face his friend. 

“How-“ one syllable in and he was already struggling. “How could you think that?” His words were quiet and slow, but deliberate. He didn’t want to repeat himself, but he had a feeling he was going to have to anyways.

“Mm?” Again with the puppy eyes… they were going to be the end of him. 

“How… could you think,” Dennis swallowed around the catch in his throat, “that I don’t love you?” 

Dennis didn’t think that it was possible for a person’s eyes to get so wide. “Whh- ahhh-“ 

“Do you think … that I would have spent _twenty years_ with you, if I didn’t love you?” Dennis was finding it hard to look Mac in the eye, but he figured he owed him that much. 

“You love me?” Mac’s voice was barely a whisper.

Somehow, Dennis’s was quieter. 

“I do.”

Dennis’s resolve finally melted as he let his eyes drop to Mac’s neck, where he noticed his hand was still peeking over the edge of Mac’s shoulder, their embrace remaining tight as ever. He closed his eyes and let himself feel. _Finally. Took you long enough._ His heart warmed as he felt Mac’s chest expand against his own as he took a breath, but froze like it had been dipped in liquid nitrogen when he heard the words Mac spoke with that breath.

“Then _why_ ,“ Mac’s jaw tightened, “do you act like this?” Dennis’s liquid-nitrogen heart shattered into splinters when Mac stepped out of their hug.

Dennis’s eyes snapped up to meet his. “What?” Now it was his turn to be bewildered.

“If you love me _so_ much, then why do you treat me this way?” Mac’s voice had taken on an uncomfortably sharp edge.

“Wh…at do you mean?” Dennis’s voice trailed off as Mac voiced the exact thought he was having.

“Don’t even say that, I know you know _exactly_ what I’m talking about.”

He was right, of course. Dennis’s gaze fluttered to the set of scratch marks he left high on Mac’s beautiful cheekbones earlier in the evening. _You stupid piece of shit! He’s right, you know. Why_ do _you treat him this way?_

“I know you still tell Charlie and Dee that you hate me. And you scratch me, and you try to argue with me all the time. So, what? Why do you treat me like this if you love me?”

“I… I don’t…” 

“What? Do you know what it’s like to love someone?”

“Y-yes! I just…”

“Okay, well, then what? Are you embarrassed by me?” Mac was getting more and more heated, a sharp role reversal from earlier in the evening.

“No, no!” 

Mac’s eyes suddenly went dead, and Dennis thought the weight of it would crush him.

“Are you _lying to me_?”

Dennis couldn’t take it.

“Oh, no, goddamnit!” he shrieked. “No, I’m not fucking lying to you! I- I’m afraid! I’m scared, okay? I’ve only ever loved, like, three people, and every time it’s been nothing but shit! Like, Maureen? See how well that turned out? Or- or not even romantically! You remember when we thought we were going to _literally_ DIE in that stupid fucking boat prison, and I told Dee I loved her, and that bitch said ‘whatever’? WHATEVER! What the fuck do you do then, huh?” There were tears streaming down Dennis’s face by this point, but he was too worked up to notice or care. “So, so when I realize that I love you, what am I supposed to do, huh? If every time I’ve ever loved anyone it goes to hell, then why would I want to risk it with you? I don’t want you to hate me!” Dennis grabbed Mac’s wrists in his desperation for him to understand, and his breath hitched. “I don’t want to lose you! But apparently, that fucking backfired, huh? Because now you think I hate you anyways! I can’t win!” His voice had gone high-pitched in his hysteria, and his breath suddenly went shallow. “So- so what- do I do, Mac? I can’t- you can’t leave- please- please don’t hate me- please- I ca- ca- pl- c…” He was hyperventilating. All he could think about was Mac leaving him. The thought of losing Mac was, quite literally, killing him. 

—

Mac stood rooted to the spot, only feeling Dennis’s hands on his, hearing his anguished breaths, seeing the copious tears flow down his face. Mac’s brain had been screaming at him to move, to do _something_ , from the second Den touched his wrists, but the shock of such a confession had frozen him to the spot. He didn’t know what it was that finally snapped him out of it, but _finally_ he yanked Den back into his arms. He wasn’t expecting Dennis to fold the second he was being held, but Mac didn’t pack on all that muscle for nothing. He gently lowered himself and Dennis to the floor, feeling Den weakly scrabble at the back of his shirt and, once again, nuzzle Mac’s neck like his life depended on it. Mac started rubbing Den’s back, making shushing noises in an attempt to show his breathing, which started to work. They sat like that for a while, but when Mac attempted to twist his legs in order to make Dennis more comfortable, he froze when he felt nails digging into his back.

“No, no, no, pl- please- please don’t go,” Dennis pleaded, the tiny breaths returning in full force. 

“Oh, hey, hey, it’s okay,” Mac shushed. “It’s alright, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Please.” Den was barely audible.

“I promise you, I am not going to leave you.” Mac projected as much confidence into his voice as he could while still trying to sound nurturing. It was a tough balance to strike, but it seemed to work. Dennis’s breathing slowed once more.

“Mac…?”

“Yeah, buddy?”

“I need you.” 

“I know, bud. I know. I’m staying right here, with you.” 

By the time Mac had calmed Den down to a relatively normal state again, his own adrenaline had abated, leaving him to notice that they were both pretty exhausted. The thought occurred to him that they were much less comfortable on the wood floor than they would be in bed. 

“Hey, Dennis?”

“Mmm?”

“Is it alright if we move to your bed? My leg’s falling asleep.”

“I-“ Den’s grip tightened on Mac’s shirt, and a panicky edge crept back into his voice. “Uhm… ye-ah, I just…”

Mac understood. “It’s alright, bud. I’ll carry you.” At these words, Mac felt him relax, and took that as a sign to scoop him up. For the hundredth time during their whole conversation, Mac was glad that he was so buff. 

After softly placing Dennis under the blankets, Mac crawled in alongside him and pulled Den tight against his chest. They both let out a sigh at the same time, which had them both giggling sleepily. Yeah, they were exhausted. Mac was thinking clearly, though, when he moved his hand from Den’s chest to caress his chin. And Dennis wasn’t sleep-addled when he rolled over so that his and Mac’s faces were only an inch apart. In fact, they both knew what they were doing when they tilted their faces to cross that hundred-mile-wide inch between them, pressing their lips together as softly as a whisper. 

—

“Mac?”

“Yeah, Dennis?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> so, there you have it! please let me know what you think :) thanks guys!


End file.
